


blue

by Nicoleks



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Happy ending cuz it's me, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Slight Angst (?), lots of feelings, mentions of inaccurate medical stuff probably, some mentions of violence (nothing graphic)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 01:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicoleks/pseuds/Nicoleks
Summary: Cat ends up in the hospital after putting herself in the line of fire while Kara's powers are out.





	blue

All the books she had ever read had always described the walls of hospital rooms as being a headache-inducing white. Or maybe they hadn't. Maybe they had described all sorts of colors and patterns that didn't stir any headaches at all. She wasn't so sure anymore, and it didn't matter anyway.

All that did matter was that this hospital room had three white walls and one bright blue behind the head of the bed. The Kryptonian was something of an artist herself, and she knew that every color had its own meaning and purpose beyond simple pigmentation. So Kara focused her eyes there on the blue paint that she assumed was meant to be calming, meant to make people think of comfort and tranquility to balance out the fear and uncertainty that came with a hospital stay.

It only made her think of drowning.

"Still not awake?"

"No. Not yet," Kara whispered, looking up at her sister who’d just walked through the automatic doors with a white styrofoam cup in hand.

Alex quietly sat down in the chair next to her sister and idly rested the cup on her lap, grasping it with both hands. She’d really only gone to grab a coffee for something to do and to get a brief reprieve from her little sister’s anxious leg bouncing.

“She’s going to be okay, y’know,” Alex murmured quietly, “The doctors here are some of the best physicians anyone could ask for.”

Kara shook her head and squeezed the hand in hers tighter than she ever would have dared if she had her powers. “She should be at the DEO, not in a general hospital. She should have specialized care and a whole fleet of doctors who won’t leave her side for even a _second_ ,” she huffed, slouching slightly.

“Well, that's just not realistic for any doctor, and you know why we couldn’t take her to the DEO, Kara,” Alex responded in as soothing a voice as she could muster, “She’s the most powerful person in National City, people would get suspicious if they saw she wasn’t brought here.”

Kara only rolled her eyes, a habit she’d most definitely picked up from the woman lying in a hospital bed in front of her. A lithe body was covered by thin white blankets and Cat’s make-up was gone, porcelain skin cooler and paler than Kara was comfortable with. Blonde hair was tousled on the pillow, curling through to the ends and reminding Kara of her late night Supergirl visits to the CEO’s penthouse balcony. Cat’s breathing was coming in wisps, short and airy, pink lips parted faintly.

Everything within reach seemed to be clean and sterilized, and there were even two sinks tucked into opposite corners. Kara was nearly shivering with how low the hospital temperatures were kept, something she only felt because she was currently as human as everyone else there. Though the room was quiet and still, Kara swore that even while powerless she would still be able to hear the steady sounds of the vital signs monitor from miles away. That monitor was now Kara’s own personal hell, every rise and fall of Cat’s blood pressure levels, every fluctuation in oxygen saturation, every _beep_ of the EKG rhythm nearly sending her into a panicked frenzy.

During the first hour after the doctors had wheeled Cat into the room, the nurses eventually had to gently explain to Kara that she didn't have to press the call button every time there was a minor change in one of the numbers.

"Huh. That blue wall kinda looks like one you'd see in a baby’s nursery or something," Alex commented softly, hoping to distract her sister with mindless chatter. Kara nearly snorted.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Kara never letting go of Cat’s hand. Her eyes flitted back and forth between staring at the nasal cannula running beneath Cat’s nose across soft cheeks to wrap behind her ears, and staring at that damn blue wall again. She wasn’t sure why these were the things she focused on, she just couldn’t look directly at Cat yet out of fear that the guilt might crack her open completely.

On the other side of the room was a large window with a less-than-impressive view of the tops of other hospital buildings, which Kara assumed housed specialized wings for children and psych patients and such. She briefly wondered what colors their rooms were, wondered if it even mattered or if they were all equally as suffocating either way.

“What happened, Kara?” Alex finally asked, breaking the stillness. Alex knew the gist of it, enough to know the extent of Cat’s injuries and the trauma it had caused her sister, but not the whole story.

“I know you said to take another sick day and just lay out in the sun until I recovered fully, but I wanted to be at CatCo,” Kara began as she leaned forward to run her free hand lightly through Cat’s soft blonde curls, “Cat knew I didn't have my powers-”

“Wait, you told her your secret and didn't tell _me_ about it?!” Alex interrupted harshly, leaning in close to her sister so as not to be overhead by anyone passing by in the hallway.

“No, Alex,” Kara sighed and shook her head sadly, “I haven't told her outright, but she knows. I can't explain it, I just- I know _her_ and I know she _knows._ And I have bruises on my arms that I'm sure she saw. Cat never misses details like that.”

Kara squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment to clear her head, seeing only _red_ , _red, red_ behind her eyelids, before opening them again to look over at her sister.

She continued, “We were standing by the desk of her latest assistant, talking about my article and this...this man stepped off the elevator holding a gun,” Kara shuddered at the memory and swallowed the lump in her throat, whole body tensing, “He stopped about ten feet away from us and started accusing Cat of knowing Supergirl’s identity, then demanding she tell him. She said she didn't know and wouldn't tell him even if she did, and that just made him angrier. Cat moved to stand in front of me and- and it all happened so _fast_ and then…” She trailed off, wiping away the tears that were trailing down her jaw slowly.

“And then he shot Cat,” Alex filled in the final blank, her own anger rising at the man who’d caused all of this pain.

Kara nodded, “And then James tackled him and I helped Cat until the medical helicopter came, and there was- god, there was _so_ much blood,” Kara closed her eyes again and saw _red_ , _red_ , _red_ , chest tightening, “But I still don't understand. Why would she _do_ that, Alex?” Kara sobbed out angrily, eyes going wide as she suddenly stood from her chair and walked over to the window, hands balled into fists by her sides, “I was about to run to the stairwell to change into my suit, but she put a hand out to stop me and- and she didn't think- she just shouldn't have _done that_.”

Kara was angry now, angry at herself for not being able to protect the woman she loved, angry at said woman for putting herself in harm’s way, angry at the surgeons for not being able to guarantee Cat’s survival, angry at the wall for being blue like water instead of green like Cat’s eyes.

Wordlessly, Alex stood and set the cup she was holding on the end table by Cat’s bed before going over to grab her sister’s shoulders and pull her in for a firm hug.

“She was trying to protect you, Kara,” Alex felt her sister sob into her shoulder so she squeezed even tighter, “She must have known that everyone in the office would've seen _you_ leave and Supergirl _immediately_ show up and put two and two together. You guys do work with a bunch of journalists, y’know.”

“She could have _died_ , Alex,” Kara pulled away and began pacing the room, gaze fixed on Cat’s tiny figure. The CEO looked smaller than Kara had ever seen her before, with a dressing gown nearly three times too big as she was practically swimming in IV lines and tubes that were attached to various parts of her body. “I could have lost her and then what? What, does she- does she think I can just live _without_ her? That I could be _Supergirl_ without her? How could she ever _believe_ something like that?”

Alex could see Kara’s breathing picking up, chest rising and falling rapidly, hands opening and closing into fists, all the telltale signs of an oncoming panic attack. Alex quickly moved to block Kara’s pacing as she grabbed the Kryptonian’s arms in an attempt to ground her sister in the present.

“Kara, _stop_ it,” Alex chastised, eyebrows furrowed in concern, “I know you’re angry and scared, and I would be too if Maggie pulled something like this, but Cat wouldn’t want you to obsess over all the possible worst case scenarios, alright?” She paused to cup her sister’s cheek comfortingly, “I know I gave you hell when you first told me about your crush on Cat, but she _does_ love you back. That much is plain as day and if she were awake right now, she would probably call you an idiot for thinking she  _wouldn’t_ do all she could to protect you.”

Kara took a few deep breaths to center herself and finally tore her gaze away from Cat to look her sister in the eye.

“I really can’t lose her, Alex.”

Alex pulled her sister in again, closing her own eyes at the feeling of tears threatening to fall.

“I know.”

They stood there wordlessly for what felt like eons, but in reality lasted only a minute or two at most, the sound of beeping from the vitals monitor unrelenting in the background.

 

* * *

Her powers were returning slowly. She could tell because she was now able to hear a few of the doctors speaking about various patient statuses at the nurses station down at the end of the corridor outside Cat’s room. Kara turned her head and let herself listen for a few seconds, but when Cat’s name still hadn’t come up she finally relented and turned to rest the crown of her head back down on the edge of the bed.

She let what she did have of her super hearing focus on the dripping of saline in the IV bag and brushed her cheek against the blanket, letting the fabric overwhelm what was left of her super touch senses for a moment. Without lifting her head, Kara glanced up at the window, noting how the orange light from the setting sun was soaking the buildings outside, how they all looked like they might catch fire at any second. It was a nice view to see, cinematic almost, and Kara hoped her future nightmares of this day would be kind enough to include this image intermittently.

“Kara?” a raspy whisper called out from above her. Kara shot up at the sound, nearly melting at the voice as relief filled her chest at the sight of deep green eyes sleepily peering at her.

“ _Cat_ ,” Kara breathed out in an almost strangled whimper, smiling for the first time in what felt like eternity. “Hey there, you’re okay, you’re in the ICU at National City General Hospital. Should I-” she reached out to press the call button on the blue wall, but a small hand reached out to stop her.

“What happened? I’m having trouble remembering exactly, it’s all quite fuzzy around the edges,” Cat murmured, louder now than when she’d first called the superhero’s name.

Kara caught sight of Cat fiddling with the buttons on the side of the bed and she leaned over to help the CEO adjust the bed so she was sitting up at a slight angle. Their faces came inches apart and both women’s breath caught at the closeness, but neither mentioned anything out loud. Kara cleared her throat before remembering Cat’s question.

“You were shot by some deranged guy who wanted to know Supergirl’s identity,” Kara rushed out after Cat was settled, though she began to get upset once again, “I- I put pressure on the wound, and _god_ it seemed like there was just so much bl- Alex had to bring me a change of clothes when she came to the hospital,” her thoughts became scattered, breathing a bit more shallow, “You wouldn’t let me go to the stairwell to put on my suit.”

And just like that Kara was done, done pretending that she wasn’t Supergirl, done pretending she wasn’t heartbreakingly in love with the beautiful, headstrong, _infuriating_ CEO laying in front of her, done drowning for all the wrong reasons.

“Oh? Just what suit are you talking about exactly?” Cat smirked slightly, lifting an arm to examine the IV tubes strapped to her forearm. It didn’t matter that she’d just woken up after surgery, Cat Grant would never stop being _Cat Grant_. “And where’s Carter? He must be worried sick over me,” the older woman’s smirk fell, a look of genuine concern finally crossing her features.

Kara sat up straighter and looked at Cat directly, a hardened gleam in her eye as she let anger flood her veins. “Carter is at the penthouse with Winn and my sister, she left here an hour ago to go stay with them for me. I thought he should be in the comfort of his own home for a while. I didn’t want him to come and see you until you’d woken up. Because he _is_ worried sick and _you_ ,” Kara punctuated harshly, “are an _idiot_ , Ms. Grant.”

Cat’s green eyes went wide with confusion, lips parting slightly to respond but before she could speak, Kara continued in a hushed tone, “You _know_ I’m Supergirl, I know you know, but you stopped me from leaving, you basically went and put yourself in harm’s way _deliberately_ despite the fact that I was right there,” she stood up and ran a hand through her hair in frustration, looking up at the ceiling briefly, white fluorescent lights burning her sight in a way she’d never felt before. She remembered then that her powers still weren’t entirely restored.

“Every time you came into the bullpen, I noticed you sniffling and sneezing, not to mention the bruises and papercuts, hell, I can still see them on you now. I know your powers are out,” Cat admitted, “I couldn’t let you expose yourself like that, Kara, especially not for me. The world needs your alter ego and more than that, the world needs _you_.”

Kara’s head snapped back towards the older woman, gaping incredulously. “But _I_ need _you_ , Cat,” she used all the strength she had left to keep from shouting, “I need you and your son needs you and all of National City needs you, so you can’t do that ever again, okay? You can’t- you just can’t-”

“Darling, it’s fine, I’m alright, I'm right here,” Cat said soothingly, witnessing firsthand the depth of Kara’s pain and subsequent anger. She reached a shaky hand out and Kara finally moved to sit back down next to her. Kara scooted her chair as close to the bed as physics would allow and took Cat’s hand in both of hers, pressing reverent kiss after kiss to the older woman’s knuckles.

No more pretending.

“No, it's not fine, Cat,” the hero whispered, anger fading as she brought Cat’s closed fist up to press it against her right cheek.

She paused and glanced at the blue wall again, hoping the color would do what it was put there for and offer some sort of comfort. The overheard lighting seemed all the brighter now that dusk had settled outside the window. It all just made her stomach churn.

“You were shot in the abdomen, near the side. The bullet fractured your ribs and lodged into one of them, damaging your lung too, but the doctors said they were able to fix it. The surgery was just over six hours, and I've been sitting by your side ever since they brought you in here, watching every single number on the vitals monitor. You’ll be in here for at least a week,” Kara's voice trembled, but every word was practiced and purposeful, every syllable deliberate.

Cat had always been a woman driven by facts, and Kara hoped that presenting the media mogul with the facts surrounding her gunshot wound and surgery would be enough to punctuate that things were decidedly _not_ fine.

“I see,” Cat said. It was plain to Kara that she didn’t know how else to respond, a true rarity for the Queen of All Media.

“Alex could tell you the exact specifics, she knows medical stuff a lot better than I do,” Kara shook her head, “But I do know that the only reason you’re alive right now is because it was such a small calibre bullet. Do you understand that? You were so close to dying and you can’t- you really _can’t_ die, Cat, that just can't happen for _so_ many reasons.”

“I’m sorry, darling,” Cat whispered earnestly, lips pressing together into a thin line, “But I can’t say that I wouldn’t do it again if I needed to. Whether you like it or not, you are a _hero_ and the people need you now more than ever. They especially need _you_ more than some cutthroat business woman,” she rolled her eyes. Kara rolled her own eyes at that for a different reason, but knew better than to try and argue the point.

“It would have been my fault, too,” Kara mumbled after a few seconds of silence, “He was after Supergirl, after _me_ , I should have just stepped forward and said-”

“No, Kara,” Cat cut her off firmly, “ _You_ are not responsible for what that man did. None of it was your fault, and I won't have you blaming yourself because some criminal put me in the hospital. Don't make me have to revert back to calling you ‘Kiera’ now,” she raised an eyebrow teasingly, trying to lighten the mood as best she could in the given situation.

Kara laughed lightly before wiping the last of her tears away from her chin. She then sighed quietly and focused all of her senses on only _Cat_ , the feel of Cat’s warm skin against her cheek, the faint sound of Cat’s breathing, honed her eyesight in on the golden flecks throughout the irises of Cat’s green eyes. She knew it was only a matter of time until a doctor or nurse barged in and interrupted them, and so as she let herself be knocked off balance by the overwhelming sense of _Cat_ surrounding her, she impulsively blurted out, “I’m in love with you.”

Cat, who had been staring at Kara equally as adoringly, froze for a second. Kara could see a hundred thoughts passing through the older woman’s head at once before she finally smiled at Kara contentedly. “I love you, too, Kara.”

And in an instant, there were no more secrets between them. No grand speeches or gestures. Just honesty. The way it should have been all along. The superhero and the CEO simply stared at each other wordlessly for a short moment, allowing their new reality to wash over them and sink in gently.

Without breaking eye contact, Kara leaned in close to Cat, stopping only a few inches away to give the older woman enough space to pull away if she wanted to.

But she didn't.

Cat closed the short distance and pressed her warm lips to Kara’s chastely for a few seconds before tilting her head to deepen the kiss, each woman careful not to jostle any of the IV lines. The older woman placed a palm against the Kryptonian’s jaw and used her nails to lightly scratch the skin there. Kara ran her tongue teasingly over Cat’s bottom lip before pulling away, both women breathless.

“I can hear your thoughts racing from here,” Cat quipped, letting her palm rest softly against Kara’s cheek.

Kara shook her head with a small smile, “I’m just still worried about you. You are in the intensive care unit with a gunshot wound, after all.”

At that, the look on Cat’s features shifted from playful to serious and Kara shifted in her seat in anticipation of whatever was coming next.

“Kara,” Cat began quietly, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the younger woman, “I need you to promise me that if we begin a relationship, you won't let it affect your superhero duties no matter what happens.”

“What do you mean, Cat?” Kara tensed, wrapping a hand around Cat’s palm and stroking the older woman’s wrist with her thumb.

“I'm saying, darling, that if anything happens to me, or Carter or your sister, you can't let anger or bitterness at world be the reason you take off the cape. If you ever do decide to put the cape away, it has to be in _your_ best interest first and no one else’s.”

Kara shook her head petulantly, “That’s a moot point because _nothing_ like this is going to happen to you ever again, Cat. I'm going to make absolutely sure of it,” she sat up straighter and adjusted her glasses, lips pressing together into a tight line, “I'll talk to Alex about upping CatCo’s security, and you’re going to get your own watch with an emergency button, and so will Carter, and she can start training you guys in-”

“I get it, darling,” Cat chuckled, shaking her head lightly, “You plan to go into overprotective lover mode,” Kara laughed at that and let some of the tension fall from her shoulders as Cat continued, “Still. Promise me anyways. Or at least indulge me, darling.”

“I promise, Cat,” Kara whispered, but her gaze avoided Cat, instead bouncing from the monitor to the sink in the far corner to the blue just above the hospital bed. She noticed a chip in the paint there smaller than the size of a penny. It only reminded Kara that while she was a superhero, all red and blue and yellow, Cat was _greatness_ , and golden and-

“Look at me, Kara?” Cat asked, effectively halting Kara’s thoughts, after seeing that she wasn't going to look at the older woman on her own. When the superhero did as asked, Cat simply smirked and lifted an eyebrow before she said, “I love you.”

Without responding, Kara grinned sheepishly and placed a deft finger under Cat’s chin to coax her forward as Kara leaned in until their warm lips met again, hot breath mixing as their mouths opened slightly against each other’s and tongues joined together. Cat put the hand that was free of wires and tubes around the back of Kara’s neck and buried her fingers in the thick blonde hair to hold the younger woman there.

After a minute or two, Kara pulled away with a slight gasp and rested her forehead against Cat’s before breathlessly murmuring only half jokingly, “When you get out of here, Carter and I are going to give you the biggest hug of your entire life. You may never catch your breath again.”

Cat laughed and rolled her eyes, cheeks tingeing slightly pink, before running her fingers down Kara’s jaw to pull her back in so she could properly kiss her Kryptonian again.

The white lights above almost stung in their brightness and they could hear the bustling of doctors and nurses out in the corridor, but the two women continued to kiss feverishly, pushing and pulling, both craving the closeness and intimacy, and behind closed eyes Kara saw _blue_ , _blue_ , _blue_ , and drowning.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think and im also on tumblr @ wonqerwoman if you wanna leave me a note there. thanks for reading!


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